Which hip care option fits what you're feeling?

Which hip pain exercises are worth trying?

Useful hip pain exercises fit the area that hurts. For a stiff joint, try sitting down and rising from a firm chair. Use the chair arms if you need help. You can also hold a counter and move the sore leg gently backward. Don't lean forward or force a sharp pinch. A pool takes weight off the joint while you walk. For outer soreness, avoid lying on that side while it settles. A physical therapist can change these movements if the ache keeps rising.

The movement may feel like work, but it shouldn't bring sharp soreness.

What does QC Kinetix offer before surgery?

QC Kinetix offers biologic therapies, its name for blood-based, non-surgical procedures done at the clinic. Here, PRP is platelet-rich plasma. A spinning machine separates your blood and leaves a layer containing many platelets. These tiny blood parts help form a clot. A medical provider puts that saved layer into the hurting joint or tendon beside it. Before booking, find out who'll handle the exam. Ask, “Will I see a doctor?” The clinic also uses the names concentrated PRP and regenerative treatments for its blood-based choices. They'll explain the risks, visits, total price, possible timing of a change, and follow-up before you decide whether the time and cost work for you.

The first visit is for deciding whether this care fits your hip.

When are hip replacement alternatives no longer enough?

Hip replacement alternatives include exercise, a cane, medicine when it's safe, and non-surgical procedures. Some choices may help you sleep or move well enough to wait. They won't replace a badly worn joint. Constant soreness at rest, little hip movement, and trouble with basic tasks make a surgery visit worth considering. Ask how long recovery usually takes for someone with your health needs. Also ask what may get harder if you wait. A second opinion can help when the first talk felt rushed.

Surgery isn't a failure when your soreness and exam point that way.

Sources

1. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with overweight or obesity, self-efficacy and self-management programmes, tai chi, cane use and oral NSAIDs across hand, hip and knee OA - but its strong recommendations for topical NSAIDs and for intra-articular glucocorticoid injection are specific to the KNEE, not the hip.

   Kolasinski SL, et al. — 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee.. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142.

2. The 2026 Cochrane update of exercise for hip osteoarthritis (18 trials, 1368 participants) found that against attention control or placebo, exercise may have little to no effect on pain (MD -6.31 points on 0-100, 95% CI -12.98 to 0.35, low certainty) and may improve physical function only slightly; against no treatment or usual care it probably reduces pain slightly (MD -7.19, 95% CI -10.70 to -3.68, moderate certainty) but the review states these improvements are unlikely to be clinically meaningful. This is a weaker result than the equivalent knee evidence and it must not be overstated.

   Hall M, et al. — Exercise for osteoarthritis of the hip.. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2026. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007912.pub3.

3. A Bayesian network meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials (1353 patients) in hip osteoarthritis found that at 2-4 months and 6 months NO injectable - corticosteroid, hyaluronic acid or platelet-rich plasma - significantly outperformed a saline placebo injection for pain or function. Pooled change from baseline exceeded the minimal clinically important difference in every arm including placebo.

   Gazendam A, et al. — Intra-articular saline injection is as effective as corticosteroids, platelet-rich plasma and hyaluronic acid for hip osteoarthritis pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102179.

4. In a multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (n=85) of a single fluoroscopically-guided intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection for hip OA, the decrease in pain at 3 months did not differ from placebo (7.8 mm vs 9.1 mm on a 100 mm VAS; P=0.98), and responder rates were 33.3% versus 32.6%.

   Richette P, et al. — Effect of hyaluronic acid in symptomatic hip osteoarthritis: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2009. DOI: 10.1002/art.24301.

5. A systematic review and meta-analysis of six Level I/II randomized trials (211 PRP and 197 hyaluronic acid patients, mean follow-up ~12 months) found NO significant difference between PRP and hyaluronic acid in WOMAC, VAS or Harris Hip Score improvement for hip osteoarthritis, including in the leukocyte-poor PRP subanalysis.

   Belk JW, et al. — Platelet-Rich Plasma Versus Hyaluronic Acid for Hip Osteoarthritis Yields Similarly Beneficial Short-Term Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Level I and II Randomized Controlled Trials.. Arthroscopy, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.arthro.2021.11.005.

6. In a placebo-controlled, participant- and assessor-blinded RCT of 102 people with radiographically confirmed hip OA, 12 weeks of active physical therapy (education, manual therapy, home exercise, gait aid) did NOT beat sham ultrasound and inert gel on pain (mean difference 6.9 mm favouring sham, 95% CI -3.9 to 17.7) or function at week 13, and mild adverse effects were more common in the active group (41% vs 14%).

   Bennell KL, et al. — Effect of physical therapy on pain and function in patients with hip osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial.. JAMA, 2014. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2014.4591.

7. The SPACE randomized trial (240 patients with chronic back pain or hip/knee OA pain) found opioids were NOT superior to non-opioid medications for pain-related function over 12 months, pain intensity was significantly BETTER in the non-opioid group, and medication-related adverse symptoms were significantly more common with opioids. The results do not support initiating opioid therapy for hip osteoarthritis pain.

   Krebs EE, et al. — Effect of Opioid vs Nonopioid Medications on Pain-Related Function in Patients With Chronic Back Pain or Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis Pain: The SPACE Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA, 2018. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2018.0899.

8. The Cochrane review of topical NSAIDs for chronic musculoskeletal pain (39 studies, 10,631 participants) found topical diclofenac and ketoprofen give good pain relief for a minority of people with osteoarthritis (NNT 9.8 and 6.9), but states plainly that these efficacy results were 'almost completely derived from people with knee osteoarthritis' - which is why hip-specific guidance on topical NSAIDs is weaker than knee guidance.

   Derry S, et al. — Topical NSAIDs for chronic musculoskeletal pain in adults.. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007400.pub3.

9. The AAOS evidence-based clinical practice guideline on Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip states verbatim: STRONG evidence supports intra-articular corticosteroids to improve function and reduce pain in the SHORT TERM; STRONG evidence does NOT support intra-articular hyaluronic acid, because it does not perform better than placebo for function, stiffness and pain; STRONG evidence supports physical therapy for mild to moderate symptoms; STRONG evidence supports NSAIDs for short-term pain and function; and MODERATE evidence does not support glucosamine sulfate.

   American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons — Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline.. AAOS, 2017.

10. OARSI 2019 designates arthritis education plus structured land-based exercise as CORE treatments for hip OA, and explicitly states that intra-articular corticosteroids, intra-articular hyaluronic acid and aquatic exercise - Level 1B/2 treatments for KNEE OA - were NOT recommended for individuals with hip or polyarticular OA. Oral and transdermal opioids are strongly not recommended (Level 5).

    Bannuru RR, et al. — OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis.. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011.

11. FDA states verbatim that regenerative medicine products including stem cells, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly, amniotic fluid and exosomes have NOT been approved 'for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, such as osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain, or shoulder pain.' The only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming (hematopoietic progenitor) cells derived from umbilical cord blood, approved only for disorders affecting blood production.

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes.. FDA, 2026.

12. CMS covers autologous platelet-rich plasma ONLY for patients with chronic non-healing diabetic, pressure and/or venous wounds, and only inside an approved coverage-with-evidence-development clinical research study. There is no national Medicare coverage of PRP for hip osteoarthritis or any other joint condition.

    Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Autologous Platelet-rich Plasma (Coverage with Evidence Development).. CMS, 2026.

13. In a cohort of 2953 hips followed 11-28 years, radiographic hip OA raised the hazard of total hip replacement 13-fold (HR 13.2, 95% CI 8.1-21) - but more than four in five hips with radiographic hip OA had still NOT had a replacement 11-28 years later.

    Franklin J, et al. — Natural history of radiographic hip osteoarthritis: A retrospective cohort study with 11-28 years of followup.. Arthritis Care & Research, 2011. DOI: 10.1002/acr.20412.